“And the Apostles and Angels rebuked people who bowed in worship to them, believing them to be gods, or God. Bowing to people is not, in and of itself worship”
You may assert that this was the case in every instance, but it is not so indicated in the scriptures. So you are speculating that this was the case EVERY time it happened.
Further, while it may be possible to bow toward a person in a manner that is not idolatrous, the apostles and angels did not simply direct those bowing to be careful to avoid committing idolatry but “go ahead and bow as long as you are aware I am not God”. They simply forbade it.
And yet, in spite of these clear warnings, you cannot even bring yourself to acknowledge the possible danger of idolatry being committed with these present-day statues and pictures.
I am not against statues and images in general. But once people begin praying toward them, bowing toward them, burning incense to them, it is time for them to go.
In the context of the people who attempted to worship St. Paul, they clearly believed him to be the incarnation of a pagan deity, and he corrected them.
In the case of the Angel in Revelation, the Angel again had to inform St. John that he was only a fellow servant.
When Abraham bowed to the people of Hebron, there was no rebuke, because he was not under any false impression that they were deities. He was simply showing them honor, which is what we do to holy things, such as the Book of the Gospels, and what Jews do to the Torah Scroll, or even to their prayer books.